


Misadventures in Pokèmon Training

by AnonymousBoopleSnoot



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: ...let's call it...creative use of Pokèmon, Attempt at Humor, Beet | Bede Being an Asshole, But He Gets Better, Ensemble Cast, Everyone's 15 Years Old, Except Bede who's 14 lol, Gen, Hop and Bede Really Don't Like Each Other, Masaru | Victor and Yuuri | Gloria are Twins, Onion | Allister and Saitou | Bea are Siblings, Slice of Life, Slight Occasional Toilet Humor, no beta we die like the national pokedex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-11-24
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:21:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26776552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnonymousBoopleSnoot/pseuds/AnonymousBoopleSnoot
Summary: Five rookie trainers enter the Gym Challenge, each with their own goal in mind. Only one will fight their way to the top of the League and earn a chance to become Champion!Of course, we've still got a long way to go until that happens. Let's see what they get up to along the way, shall we?A partial rewrite of Sword and Shield with Victor and Gloria both existing and not being silent protags, Slice of Life hijinks, and Marnie not being criminally underused in the story. There may be relationships at some point, but not as the central focus.
Relationships: Hop & Masaru | Victor, Hop & Yuuri | Gloria, Masaru | Victor & Yuuri | Gloria
Comments: 8
Kudos: 35





	1. It's a Wild, Wild Area Out There

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang raid a Bird's Nest. Hop works out. Gloria makes her own winter gear.

"Would you rather kiss a Grimer or Hug a Maractus?"

Hop laughed at Gloria's absurd question. "Neither. Both would likely end with me in the hospital."

As Hop's Wooloo, Skip, nodded sagely in agreement, Victor looked up from the curry pot he was tending to. "Pretty sure you have to pick one of them, Hop. That's the whole point of Would You Rather."

Hop sighed. "The Grimer then, I guess. Slightly smaller chance of harm. Why are we doing this?"

"Duh, We're camping!" Gloria proclaimed. "This is what you do when you're camping!"

"We're only camping out for the night because you and Hop spent the whole day chasing a Nincada to Wyndon and back..." Victor grumbled. 

"Hey! Don't badmouth Roadrunner! He's my precious little insect baby!" 

"I'm just glad the opening ceremony isn't 'til tomorrow..."

Hop stared at the Nincada, who was currently busy munching on an Oran Berry and ignoring the disapproving glare of Gloria's Scorbunny, Cinn. Victor groaned in frustration. "Where'd all those Oran Berries I put out go?"

Apparently, it wasn't the bug's first Berry. Hop sighed. "I can go shake a tree and get more?"

Victor uttered a quick thanks before turning to the Sobble that was clinging to his shoulder. "You know, Beaky doesn't bite. You can go down and say hi."

Hop's Rookiedee, Beaky, was staring up at the quivering Sobble in confusion. Victor's Sobble, Ace, would not budge. 

Gloria laid back and placed her head on Skip's soft wool, giving Ace a sympathetic glance. "Poor thing...why do you think he's so scared?"

Victor shrugged. "Leon probably would have told us if our starters came pre-traumatized. I think he's just really shy."

Hop then yelled out. Victor jumped in surprise, dumping Ace off of his shoulder and right onto Beaky. Skip stood up and trotted towards the noise, causing Gloria's head to hit the ground. Roadrunner attempted to nab a piece of Rawst Berry from the cutting board, only for his hand to be slapped away by Cinn. 

Victor grabbed what he thought was Ace's Pokèball, and ran over to help Hop. He found his friend sitting under a tree, clutching his forehead as Skip licked his cheek. He saw a shadowy shape begin to roll away, and instinctively threw whatever he was holding at the blob. 

Gloria ran up behind him. "Hop, are you okay?!" she shouted. 

Victor stared into the dark as the Pokèball he had thrown let out a chime to indicate a successful capture. 

Hop stood up, patting Skip on the head. "Sorry guys. I was shaking the tree, and an Applin fell onto my head. It kinda...startled me."

As Victor walked over to the Pokèball to investigate, Gloria nudged Hop with her elbow. "You think the tree was trying to say something to ya?"

"What? No!" Hop protested. Gloria laughed, and continued to pester him about possible romantic ties to a Berry Tree. Victor walked back over with the Pokèball. "I think l just caught that Applin!"

"Nice! Another one for the team! What are you gonna call him?" Just as Victor was going to name his new companion, they heard the telltale "Fwooom" of Cinn launching an Ember attack. 

The three ran back to the campsite to find Roadrunner fainted on the ground near a knocked-over Curry Pot and Cinn standing triumphantly next to it. The curry that hadn't absorbed into the ground was horribly charred, and most of the chunks in it looked nibbled-on. Ace was hiding behind Cinn, putting the rabbit between himself and Beaky, who looked more dazed than intimidating.

Victor deflated as his stomach growled. "Instant Noodles?"

"Instant Noodles." Hop agreed.

And so Victor boiled some water, glaring at Roadrunner while Gloria fed him a revive.

* * *

When Gloria woke up and crawled out of her tent, she found Hop was already awake, doing push-ups outside of his tent. Skip, Beaky, and Diddy, Hop's Grookey, were all next to him, attempting to do the same. Of course, given that one of them had incredibly thick wool, and the other one was a bird, the Pokèmon were less than successful. "Hop, what are you doing?"

"Ah...Morning, Gloria!" Hop jumped up and ran across the campsite to a tree, where he had hung a Red Flag. Diddy gladly followed, with Beaky simply electing to fly over to the tree. Skip, on the other hand, had rolled himself onto his back in an attempt at a push-up and seemed stuck. "I'm doing Raihan's daily training regimen!"

"Raihan has a daily training regimen?"

"Don't tell me you don't follow him on ChattR. He just posted about it!"

Hop leapt down onto his back to do a Sit-Up. Diddy chirped happily and mimicked his trainer. Beaky gave up and perched next to the Red Flag. Skip was still stuck on the other side of the Training Course. Gloria tilted her head. "Doesn't Raihan have like, equipment? Maybe a Membership at, I don't know, a GYM or something? With Weights, and Treadmills, and stuff?"

"But he posted this one on ChattR! You know it's gotta be the real deal!"

Gloria took a closer look at the flag. "Hop...is that..."

"Victor's Shirt? Yeah. Don't worry, I'm sure he won't notice. He always sleeps late, remember?"

"HOP! WHERE'S MY SHIRT?!" Victor stormed out of his tent, the entire upper half of his body missing clothing. His newly caught Applin, Fuji, happily rolled along behind him. 

"Vic, I can explain..."

Victor sighed as he snatched the shirt away from the tree and put it on. "You're up early." Gloria remarked.

"We gotta get to the Budew Drop Inn, remember? Pack up camp, we gotta go!"

"But I was in the middle of my workout..."

"The workout can wait! We have to go check in, or we won't be able to register for the League in time!"

Hop looked down in shame as he walked back to his tent.

* * *

"A-a-am I the only one who finds these s-s-s-sudden weather shifts really s-s-strange?" Victor shivered.

Hop breathed on his hands before rubbing them together and pressing them to his face. "N-n-now that you mention it, y-yeah...D-D-Diddy won't even come out of his Pokèball..."

The Grookey in question was currently cowering inside of the Pokèball, staring through the translucent top in complete horror at the Blizzard outside.

"C'mon, fellas! Step it up! What are we, Slugma?"

Victor stared ahead at his twin sister, his facial expression showing an odd combination of annoyance, awe, and horror. "How are you not c-c-cold?!"

Gloria turned around to face them, revealing Cinn, who was attached to her front, riding inside of a stretched-out gray sweater. The Scorbunny cheerfully waved at the two. "Oh..." Hop sighed.

He turned to face Victor. "Alr-right, f-f-first order of business; catching a Fire-t-type."

"...Or j-just b-b-buying a winter c-c-coat."

"I guess that works t-too..."

* * *

"Oooooh..." Gloria, Hop, and Victor could only stare up at the majestic glowing beam rising from the outcrop of violet rocks.

Victor looked down at his phone. "Apparently, this means that there's a wild Pokèmon who fell down there, and Dynamaxed...it says here that these dens sometimes have stuff like TRs and rare berries down there!"

"I say we jump in!" Gloria said enthusiastically.

"Hold up. Lee told me you need four people to do one of these. Just in case."

"Oh..." the three looked down sadly, but then Gloria perked up. "Hey! Mr. Suit Guy! Can you help us with this?" she shouted at a random guy walking past.

"Gloriawhatareyoudoingyoudontjustcallpeoplemistersuitguy" Victor turned to the man, who had walked over. "Sorry for the inconvenience, sir, you can keep doing what you were doi-"

"Why, I'd be glad to help three strapping young gym challengers such as yourselves! Ah, I remember the days when I did the league, back when Mustard was champion. Those were the days, let me tell you."

"...okay. So I guess we jump in?" Victor asked as the man continued to ramble about how youth was wasted on the young.

"Max Raid Battllllllle, here! We! Gooooooooooo!" Gloria shouted as she dove into the den. The other three just stared as she vanished into the beam, before following her down.

* * *

As Victor slowly stood up, gaining his bearings inside of the surprisingly spacious den, he looked over in front of himself to find a massive Pidove looking down at him. The Bird let out a deep, menacing Pidove coo, sending energy all over the den. 

"Cinn! Let's Go!" Gloria shouted as she tossed out her Scorbunny's Pokèball. 

"Come on out, Beaky!" Hop yelled.

"Ace, I choose you!" Victor exclaimed, pitching the lizard's Pokèball forward. 

"Solrock!" shouted the man in the suit. 

Ace immediately noticed the giant bird towering over him, and, doing some quick mental math (opponent = very very big, me = very very small), immediately returned himself to his Pokèball. Victor facepalmed, staring down the quivering critter through the top of the ball. "Really?!"

He attempted to send out Ace again. "Get...out here!"

Gloria took the first move. "Cinn! Ember!"

The Scorbunny launched a small Fireball from its mouth, hitting the Pidove directly in the beak.

"Beaky! Hone your Claws, then use Power Trip!"

Beaky took to the air, rubbing his talons against each other to sharpen them before being surrounded with a dark aura and smashing into the larger bird's chest.

"Direct Hit!" Hop exclaimed.

"Solrock, Cosmic Power!" the man exclaimed. The Sun Pokèmon glowed with a mysterious power.

"Ace, get out of your Pokèball, dammit! Fuji can't fight this thing!"

As Victor continued to struggle with his timid Pokèmon, the Pidove launched a whirlwind, consuming Cinn with 60mph winds.

As the Scorbunny landed on the ground on his back, dazed, Victor finally convinced Ace to launch a Water Gun at the Pidove.

"Cosmic Power again!" The Solrock's glow intensified.

The Pidove took flight, swiping at the Pokèmon on the ground with its Talons. "Beaky! Fly behind it and use Peck!" Hop commanded.

"Solrock, Cosmic Power!" The Solrock's glow intensified even further. Gloria turned to him. "Does your Solrock know any other moves?"

"Buffing up your stats before attacking is very important when you battle, Young Lady! Remember that for your future endeavors. And yes, he does! Solrock!" the man commanded. "Uuuuuse...Rock Polish!"

Solrock spun around, becoming even shinier. Gloria looked back over at the Pidove, who had landed. The bird released a wave of energy, knocking back all of the Pokèmon and prompting Ace to hide behind Hop. The Solrock's glow vanished, causing the man to scream in frustration. "Now look what you've done, you uncouth avian! You've reset all of my hard work! Solrock, Cosmic Power!"

Gloria moaned in exasperation. "You have a Rock Type, make it attack already!"

"But he's not ready yet! Rock Polish!"

Gloria screamed into her sleeve. "Guess this is what I get for asking random passersby to battle with us..." she muttered to herself.

As the Pidove flew directly above them, Victor threw Ace at it. "Ace, Water Gun!"

The Sobble sprayed water directly up into the Pidove, causing it to freeze. Victor cringed as water flew right up the Pokèmon's...back end. The Pidove roared out in shock, flying away while tilting around unevenly, causing it to crash into the roof of the den...and keep going.

The four could only stare as the Giant Pidove proceeded to fly right through the ceiling of the den and fly off into the Galarian Skies.

"Um...I...uh...what the...huh?" Victor stuttered as Cinn leapt to the other side of the den to catch a falling Ace.

"We...uh...never saw this happen." Gloria decreed. "We weren't here."

Victor nodded mutely. "Ooh! Look! TRs!" Hop exclaimed.

* * *

"I will never understand Fishing." Hop intoned as he sat on a rock, watching Victor and Gloria fish. 

"You just don't have the patience for it." Victor explained. "Using the right bait to attract the right kind of Pokèmon, feeling the subtle pull of one swimming by your Lure..."

"Victor, I caught something!" Gloria shouted excitedly. She reeled in her line to reveal a Magikarp, which she quickly caught in a Lure Ball. 

"A Magikarp? Really, Glo?" Victor asked.

Gloria sent out said Magikarp. "Welcome to the team, Mr. Fish!" she said cheerfully.

The Magikarp balanced on its lower flipper, looking up vacantly at its new trainer. It eventually decided that it had nothing better to do, and gave a sort of lopsided smile at her.

As Gloria pet her new Magikarp, Hop shook his head. "Alright, forget fishing. I just don't understand Gloria."

Victor then reeled in his line, revealing a crying Ace, who had his lip pinched between two magnets. Victor sighed as he removed the magnets and comforted the Sobble. "I thought I told you I was fishing here..." He shook his head, smiling slightly. "Never change, Ace. Never change."

* * *

"Hey guys, look! Straight ahead!"

Victor smiled. "Motostoke! We did it!"

Hop ran ahead of them, smiling. "Come on, guys! Last one to the Budew Drop is a broken Exeggcute!"

Gloria took off after him. "Wha-Unfair!" Victor shouted.

The three ran off, laughing and whooping as they came up on their first challenge.

* * *

Leon adjusted his cape in his room at the Budew Drop Inn. "Hey, man, you need to relax." Raihan said concernedly. His Flygon nodded, a sad look on its face.

"I know, I know, I'm overthinking all of this. It's just that this is Hop's first year in the League, and everything-"

"Needs to go perfect, we know. For crying out loud, that's all you've said for the past week."

Leon looked over at Piers, who was currently video chatting them through Raihan's Rotom. "Don't act like you haven't been thinking the same thing, Piers. This is Marnie's year too, right?"

"Yea, but you don't see me panicking over it!"

"Why are you still in Spikemuth, Piers?" Raihan questioned. 

"Oh, thought you knew. I'm not comin'."

"What? Why? It's the Opening Ceremony!"

"We all know Rose doesn't care whether I attend his yearly ego trip or not."

"Come on, it's more than just that..."

"Oh, sorry. Rose **and Leon's** yearly ego trip."

"Low blow, Piers. Low blow."

Raihan put his hand on Leon's back. "Don't worry. You have an autograph session at Four. That'll bring your ego right back up to where it's supposed to be."

"What is this, pick on the Champion day?"

"You know you love us." Raihan insisted. "We wouldn't dish it out if we didn't know you could take it." 

"Don't you have another quote-unquote daily training regimen to make up?"

Raihan looked at his friend indignantly. "Look, my PR Agent told me to share one that anyone could do without any special equipment, alright? Buzz off."

The friends fell into silence for a bit, before Raihan spoke up. "Look, you remember our first league, right."

"How could I not?"

"Even when Sonia got sick and sneezed into a microphone in the middle of Rose's speech?" 

"That just made it better." Leon laughed.

"See? No matter what happens, this will be an unforgettable experience for Hop. He's been watching your matches all his life, he'll love finally being able to be in the league!"

"I know, I know, I just can't help but worry about him."

"Ya told us yourself, mate." Piers said. "He's got his best friends with him, Pokèmon and Human alike. He'll be fine."

Leon smiled as he looked out the window at Hop, Victor, and Gloria, who were slumped over on top of each other on a bench, winded from their race to the Inn. "I know. They're all destined for great things, I can tell."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing a multi-chapter fanfic, here goes nothing!
> 
> If you're part of the Persona Fandom, you've probably read, seen, or at least heard of PsychicBeagle's "Many Quirks" series. This is basically me trying to take a similar approach to Sword and Shield, letting characters hang out and develop a bit further than in canon, while also putting my own spin on the canon storyline. 
> 
> Because I actually don't have anything better to do, I'll try to get weekly uploads going for this, but if this drops off the radar for a bit, I apologize in advance. I'm moving house soon, so that might lead to some turmoil.
> 
> I am very new to writing fanfic (well, GOOD fanfic. We don't talk about my days as a cringy kid over on ff.net), so if you have any suggestions, please let me know in the comments.
> 
> STAY TUNED FOR:  
> \- Motostoke! The gang has some time to kill, and what better way to do it than with shopping?  
> \- Marnie and Bede! We'll get acquainted with the other half of the main characters very soon.  
> \- Team Yell! Everyone's favorite kinda-sorta-maybe-evil-maybe-not pack of Football Hooligans!


	2. Hauntings and Hopscotch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Allister meets new people. Bede cuts a line. Roadrunner raids Victor's minifridge.

"Are you kidding me?"

"This is the worst!"

"Bet she thinks she's sooooo special, with all her annoying fans..."

"Let us through!"

"I've never heard of a 'Marnie' before, have you?"

As Victor, Gloria, and Hop entered the Budew Drop Inn, they found a crowd of people and Pokèmon standing around near the reception, groaning and complaining. 

"You know, Vic, I don't think we needed to rush over here like you said we did," Gloria said. "Look how crowded it is!"

"I don't think it's supposed to be this crowded," Victor said, scratching his chin. "Something's not right here."

"Excuse me!" Hop tapped the closest person on the shoulder, an unfriendly-looking boy with puffy blonde hair and a magenta longcoat. 

The boy turned around, scowling. "What do you want?"

"Hey, I just wanted to ask why everyone's all clustered here!" Hop said indignantly. "Jeez."

"If you must know..." the boy said with an air of haughtiness. "These buffoons are blocking the front desk. Apparently, they're the fans of this one trainer called Marnie, and now that she's registered, they're not letting anyone else get through."

"Wha-that's not fair!" Gloria sputtered. "Vic, Hop, come on! Let's give 'em a piece of our minds."

Gloria grabbed Victor's hand and began shoving through to the front of the crowd. There, three trainers, decked in black and pink stood in front of the reception desk. "Oy!" Gloria yelled. "Whaddaya think you're doing?"

"Marnie, Marnie, she's the best! You know she's gonna beat the rest!" the trainer in the middle chanted, ignoring Gloria. Victor decided to take the diplomatic approach. 

"Uh, excuse me," Victor said awkwardly. "We just want to get through and register for the league. So if you could please move aside real quick, that would be amazing. Thank you so much!"

Victor attempted to squeeze around the middle trainer and past the one on the right, who blocked him with a beefy arm. "Thought I already told you lot. Registration's closed!"

"Uh, I can see how you would make that mistake, but the sign for the league's still on the desk, right there, and we really need to-"

"I told ya. Registration's. Closed."

"Come on! You gotta let us through!" Hop complained.

"You lot ain't got the skills to beat Marnie!" the center trainer shouted. "So ya might as well give up while ya can!"

"Oh, really?" Gloria challenged, a glint in her eyes. "Why don'tcha put your money where your mouth is? Triple Battle. One Pokèmon each. You lose, you move."

"Gloria, we don't know what kind of Pokèmon they have, is it really a good idea to-"

"Yeah! We'll show you how strong we are!" Hop interrupted. "Bring it on!"

"Big talk for such small trainers," the trainer on the left grunted. "Nuzleaf!"

"Nickit!"

"Zigzagoon!"

Gloria grabbed a Pokèball out of her bag. "Cinn!"

"Fuji!"

"Skip!"

"Nuzleaf, use Absorb on the Wooloo!"

"Skip, dodge it and use Tackle!"

The Nuzleaf attempted to land the glowing green orb, but Skip rolled out of the way, and right into Nuzleaf, knocking it towards Cinn. 

"All yours, Gloria!"

"Thanks, Hop! Cinn, use Ember!"

The Nuzleaf was engulfed in flames, leaving it knocked out. Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, the Fox and the Raccoon were approaching Fuji, who didn't seem to realize what was going on.

"Zigzagoon, Lick!"

"Nickit, Quick Attack!"

"Fuji, use Rollout! Get away!

The Applin proceeded to tuck itself into a ball-like shape and roll out of the way of the attacks. However, Skip wasn't so lucky and took the full brunt of both. The Sheep Pokèmon was knocked down, slightly dazed.

One of the trainers got a cruel grin on their face. "Quick, while it's down. Beat Up!"

The two Dark-types proceeded to pile on to the poor Wooloo, punching, headbutting, and kicking it as much as they could. When they were done, Skip was unconscious. However, in their attack, they didn't notice Cinn creeping up behind them, an oversight Gloria was keen on taking advantage of. "Cinn! Low Kick!"

The Scorbunny proceeded to sweep its foot under the Zigzagoon, knocking it down and making it faint. The Nickit, however, was too fast, and dodged the attack.

"Hmm...Low Kick again!"

"Rollout! Chase it down!"

Scorbunny attempted another kick, only for the Nickit to dart away once again, running circles around its opponents with Quick Attack and ignoring Fuji, who was haplessly rolling along behind it. "It's too fast! We have to think of something else," Victor said. Gloria wracked her brain. She hadn't taught Cinn Swift or anything like it, and all Fuji could do was Rollout and Astonish. They just needed an incredibly fast attack...

"Fuji, use Rollout right towards Cinn!"

"Gloria, what are you doing?"

"Trust me!"

The Applin rolled towards Cinn at high speeds. The Scorbunny braced itself. "Ready...now! Foul Ball!"

"Th-that's not a move!" the Middle Trainer stammered.

Cinn proceeded to kick Fuji at high speeds, sending it soaring towards where the Nickit was currently running. The trainers could only stare as the Applin clocked Nickit on the head, knocking it out. 

"We...win." Gloria said smugly. 

"We, we won!" Victor exclaimed.

"Crap...we got beaten by a bunch of kids..." the Middle Trainer groaned.

"Whadda we do?" asked the one on the left. 

"Remember?" Hop said. "You move."

"Grr...this ain't the end of this!" shouted the one on the right. 

"Yeah! You haven't seen the last of Team Yell!"

The hooligans left the building, and the entire room let out a sigh of relief. 

The rude trainer in the Magenta Longcoat then shoved past Hop, making his way to the front desk. 

"There's a line," Victor pointed out. 

"I don't care," the boy said. He came face to face with Gloria. "An interesting strategy." He sounded bored. "It's quite a shame that the league specializes in Pokemon Battles and not Food Fights." 

"Thanks for letting me know. I like to think I'm good at both of them," Gloria fired back.

"We'll see," the boy chuckled darkly. He turned to Hop. "A Wooloo? Really?"

"My Wooloo," Hop corrected as he fed Skip a Revive. "Got a problem with that?"

"Nothing. It's just that I was taught that you should use Pokemon that can actually win."

The boy continued his walk to the front desk. Hop whispered into Victor's ear. "Of all the arrogant, stupid things to say...what does he know about winning? Huh? Can't help but wonder who'd endorse an arse like-"

"Bede Pierce. Endorsement by Chairman Rose."

"What."

* * *

Gloria collapsed onto the bed in Victor's hotel room. "Yessss..."

Hop flopped down face-first right next to her. "These beds are ama-zinnnng..."

Victor eventually followed suit. "Yeah, they're pretty great. 'Specially after camping out..."

Gloria rolled over. "So...Opening Ceremony's tomorrow. Whaddaya wanna do to pass the time?"

Hop grinned. "Lee told me that this one Cafe here's amazing. We've gotta try it!" 

Gloria nodded. "What next?"

"We hit the shops?"

"YES. Victor, you coming?"

"I dunno. You guys both know that I'm not a big shopper. I might just take Ace and Fuji around town. See the sights."

"That sounds nice..." Gloria breathed into the bed. 

In the silence, they heard a motor running and the crinkling of wrappers. Gloria sat up, staring at the minifridge in the corner of the room, which was wide open. "Roadrunner, No!"

She lunged for the bug, who was halfway through his fourth piece of candy. She picked him up and glared at him. "Bad Nincada. Not your food."

Victor sighed. "You're paying for those."

"Fair enough."

* * *

As the trio went their seperate ways, Gloria and Hop walked over to the Record Shop, with Cinn and Skip walking along beside them. As they entered the shop, the Pokemon gazed in awe at the colorful TRs all over the shelves. Cinn proceeded to hand Gloria a TR47 Dragon Claw, his eyes shining. Gloria snickered. "I don't think that's gonna help you very much, buddy."

As the Scorbunny's face fell, Skip sniffed a TR26 Endure. Hop crouched down to the Sheep's level. "That could come in handy."

"Why dontcha buy it?" Gloria asked.

Hop nodded. "I might...though I might wait until a little later, when my mum sends me a bit more money."

Gloria shook her head. " _A little later_ , the other challengers are gonna mob this place."

Hop picked up the TR and speedwalked to the end of the checkout line.

* * *

Victor stepped up to the photo booth, and straightened his hat. "Ho-kay..." He looked into the camera and gave an awkward smile. The camera didn't go off, though. Victor frowned. "Is this thing broken or something?" He looked down to investigate the screen, only for a flash to go off, startling him into throwing his hands up. The screen showed a close-up of Victor's startled expression, with his hands in front of his face. Victor groaned angrily, then stepped out of the booth, a terrible picture printed onto his first ever Gym Challenge trading card. 

Victor sent Ace and Fuji out of their Pokeballs and onto a park bench. "Okay, you two. We're gonna do some exploring, alright?" Ace seemed to shrink back into the bench. "Oh, don't worry, Ace. You can hold on tight to me, okay?" The Sobble continued to stare in terror at Victor. "I promise, I'm not gonna let anyone get too close to you." The Sobble hid behind Fuji, who seemed entirely unaware of his surroundings. Victor sighed and scratched his head. Wait a minute.

There was supposed to be a hat there. 

Victor turned around to find his knit cap floating away down the streets of Motostoke. "Wha-hey!"

Victor grabbed his Pokemon and chased after the runaway hat, weaving through the crowds in the street. The hat seemed to be headed towards the stadium. Victor picked up the pace, trying to catch it. As he approached the stadium, a girl opened the door from a clothing store, walking right out and into his path. 

Victor crashed into her, sending them both tumbling to the ground. Fuji bounced off the ground and landed perfectly upright on top of her. Ace wasn't so lucky, and landed face-first on the floor. The Sobble began to cry, causing Victor to try and comfort him. 

The girl got up and took Fuji off of her stomach, placing him gently off the ground. "Ow..." Her Morpeko, who had landed behind Victor, seemed slightly dazed as well. 

Victor turned away from Ace to look at her. "I am so sorry! I didn't mean t-"

"Save me the apology. I know it was an accident."

"Oh." Victor nodded. The two sat on the ground for a little bit. "Well," he began. "It was nice meeting you, I guess, but I should get going. I have a hat to find."

"Ya dropped your trainer card."

Victor stared at the trading card that he had recieved a couple minutes ago. "Oh, that thing! Yeah, I, uh, I thought the photo booth was broken, and, it's a really bad picture, and I-I'll just be going," he said quickly.

"I like it. 'S got a bit of charm to it."

"It makes me look like an idiot," Victor muttered. 

The girl got up and offered a hand to him, which he gladly took. "The name's Marnie. And this is Peko." She pointed to the Morpeko standing at her feet, nibbling on a bit of Leppa Berry. Her name sounded familiar to Victor, like he'd heard it somewhere before. 

"Uh, Victor. Th-that's my name. And these are Ace and Fuji." 

The Applin made a friendly-sounding vocalization, and Ace hid behind Victor's leg.

"Uh...it's not you. Ace is just a little shy. Sorry."

"No worries. So, you're a Gym Challenger too?"

"Yeah, that's the plan! Well, as soon as I get my hat back. I was sitting at a bench and it just started floating away. I think it might have went to the stadium."

"That your hat?"

Marnie pointed towards the stadium, where Victor watched his hat float through the front entrance. Victor could only stare at it for a couple seconds. "Y-yep. That's...it."

"Well? What're ya waitin' for?"

"Right!" The two took off towards the stadium.

* * *

"Well? Whaddaya think?"

Gloria brushed her now slightly shorter hair out of her face, showing it off to Hop. He framed her head with his fingers. Diddy, who was enjoying a hard candy that the hairstylist's Nickit had given him, mimicked his trainer. "It looks alright, I guess..."

"Alright? Just! Alright!"

"I, I mean-"

"You never tell a _lady_ that her hair looks just alright!"

"Look, I'm sorry, Glo, I just..." Hop noticed that Gloria was snickering. "You're pulling my leg, aren't you?"

"Totally," she laughed. "No, but seriously, does this look good? I've gotta look my best for the ceremony tomorrow!"

"You look great," Hop smiled. "I think it'll just take some getting used to."

"How 'bout you?" Gloria asked.

"What about me?" Hop replied.

"What are you doing with your hair? If you're gonna be champion, you've gotta do something crazy with it!"

"Th-that's not a rule!"

"Cynthia? Alder? Iris?"

"N-no way! I'm not changing this! Take Red, for instance! He had totally normal hair!"

"'Fore he vanished up the side of a freakin' mountain! Now I'll bet he's got crazy hobo hair!"

"He was in Alola, like, two years ago, looking entirely normal!"

"Two years is plenty of time to grow crazy hobo hair!"

"I'm not changing my hair, Glo."

"Yeah, I know...it's just that you're really fun to tease, Hopscotch!"

Hop glowed bright red. "Ohhhhh Arceus, you heard him call me that."

"Sure did!"

Hop put his face in his hands. "I'm never gonna hear the end of this..." he groaned.

* * *

As Victor and Marnie approached the stadium door, they were stopped by a League Staffer. "Sorry, kiddos. Stadium's closed so we can get things ready for the opening ceremony."

"But it's urgent! My hat just went floating into-"

"I can't let you guys in without a backstage pass."

"No, but I-"

"Come on Victor, let's go," Marnie said as she pulled him away from the entrance.

"So we're giving up then? That easy?" Victor questioned as they walked away.

Marnie shook her head, then gave a small smirk. "Never said we were giving up. Ya ever hopped a fence before?"

* * *

Allister walked through the cold and creepy office, holding Mimikyu's hand (was it a hand? It much more resembled a harmless version of Shadow Claw...), and letting Polteageist float behind him. There was a chill in the air, a tingle on his skin...Kabu was right. A ghost had moved in. He wasn't exactly sure what would motivate a ghost to live in Kabu's Office, of all places, but one was definitely here.

"H-hello?" Allister spoke. Silence. "C-c-can you come out, please? I just want to talk to you."

Still silence. [I don't think it's coming out,] Mimikyu said sadly. 

"I know...A-any ideas?"

[Maybe a magic circle?] suggested Polteageist. [We could draw one using sand and bring it out.]

Allister nodded, taking out a small pouch of purple sand as Gengar leapt out of his shadow. [RAAAH!]

Allister flinched, then turned to his strongest Pokemon. "Y-you'll have to try h-harder than that."

[Nooo! Why can't I scare you like I used to?] Gengar groaned.

Allister chuckled. "Y-you've been with me all my life. I kn-now all your tricks. Also, whose h-h-hat is that?"

[Nooobodyyy...] the Ghost said evasively.

"St-tealing things is bad. You should go say sorry..." Allister mumbled.

[But finders keepers!]

Allister sighed, then began pouring sand onto the floor in a circle, filling in little details in the middle. He was almost finished, only for the sound of a door slamming open to make him jump.

"Marnie, now we're breaking and entering. This could get us kicked out of the league!"

"Aw, relax. Nobody's even...here..." The girl's voice trailed off as she stared at Allister.

Allister tried to ask them what they were doing there, but his voice trailed off and caught in his throat. All he could manage was a stammering "W-w-whad're y-y-you..."

Mimikyu moved in front of him, almost protectively. Allister took a couple deep breaths and closed his eyes. Just remember what Bea said, imagine you're talking to Bea...

"W-what're you doing here?"

The two other trainers looked at each other guiltily. The boy coughed, and Allister flinched. "Uh, hi. I'm Victor. And she's Marnie. And we're just here to find my hat, which floated off into the stadium, and I'm just trying to find it, and then we'll be out of your hair, and–ow!" The girl, Marnie, elbowed him and pointed at Gengar. Allister turned to his partner.

"C-come on, Gengar. Give me the hat."

[Nooooooooo...] the Ghost whined. [But I found it, it's miiiiine...]

"It's not yours. Now give it."

The ghost reluctantly gave Allister the hat, and he walked up to Victor to hand it to him. Marnie smiled a bit. "Thanks, Allister."

Allister took a step back. "H-how d-d-do you..."

"My, uh, my brother follows the league," Marnie said hastily. "He told me that you and Bea are running the gym together this year..."

Victor seemed a bit preoccupied with something else. "Did you just...understand your Gengar?"

"Mm-hm. I c'n talk to ghosts..." Allister mumbled. 

"Wow! How can you-"

"J-just, always could. C-can you p-please back up a b-b-bit?"

"Oh," Victor took a couple steps back. "Sorry."

They jumped as the door slammed shut. The light fizzled out as a sinister flame began to light up the room. Victor's face went pale. "What's...going on?"

"'S a ghost in here," Allister said quietly. "This is Kabu's office, 'nd he wanted me to get it out..."

Marnie tried the door, then swore quietly. "It won't open!"

"So, we're trapped?!" Victor asked.

"N-n-no, we just need to calm it down," Allister explained.

A ball of magenta flame streaked across the room, setting fire to a pile of papers. Allister ran over to try and save the papers, accidentally kicking over part of the magic circle. He heard a Pokeball open. "Ace, use Water Gun!"

The Sobble extinguished the stack with a quick spray of water.

"How do we calm it down?" Marnie asked.

"W-well, uh, I can t-talk to it if I can j-just get it to return to physical form."

"How do we do that?" Victor asked as he attempted to pull the Sobble out from cowering under his hat.

Allister crouched down and began fixing the magic circle. A fireball tore through the air towards the circle, and Allister, until Marnie threw her Morpeko out to block it with a Thunder Shock. The flames coalesced into a specter of violet fire on the other side of the room. Parts of the fire began glowing a bright white, creating a sinister-looking grin, as papers began to lift off and fly around the room. It wasn't quite the same effect as using Scary Face, but it definitely startled Ace enough to make him return to his Pokeball. The fire spirit began inching closer to Allister. Peko launched off another Thunder Shock, only for it to have no effect. Victor weighed his options. He could try to persuade Ace into coming out again, but that would waste time. Fuji's only offensive options were Rollout and Astonish, and he was weak to Fire to boot...wait, that's wrong. Fuji's a Dragon-type! 

Victor grabbed the other Pokeball. "Fuji, use Rollout right into the fire!"

The Applin popped out of the Pokeball and rolled at full speed towards the specter. The Apple Pokemon passed into the flames, stopping its attack as it bounced off something solid in the middle. Something cried out, as the flaming form was sent sliding backwards. 

Allister finished the magic circle, and Gengar drifted into the middle, cackling as it imbued the sand with power. The papers drifted back down to the ground as the lights came back on, revealing what looked like a partially melted Litwick where the fire used to be. The Litwick looked tired. 

Allister turned to the Litwick. "H-hello?" he tried.

The Litwick looked up at him. [You're not Leader Kabu,] it said confusedly. 

"I'm not," Allister confirmed. "I-is that a problem?"

[I thought he lives up here!]

"What's it saying?" Victor asked excitedly.

Allister listened to the Litwick. "I-i-it just wanted to get Kabu's attention. It wanted to join his team..."

"So, it started haunting his office?" Marnie ventured.

Victor placed his hand on his chin. "I'm pretty sure it just used a ton of power to assume that flaming form. It wasn't trying to defend itself or keep its territory or anything. I think it was showing off." Victor turned to the Ghost-type expert, who nodded.

"Th-this is one of the w-wild Pokemon from Kabu's Gym Challenge," Allister explained. "H-h-he wanted to be with a strong trainer, s-so he t-tried to get Kabu's attention, and join his team. B-b-but Kabu g-got the wrong idea and thought he had angered a ghost or something, s-so he called me."

The Litwick turned to Victor and seemed to study him for a moment. It then turned to converse with Fuji. 

"What's...happening now?" Marnie asked uneasily. The Litwick seemed to make a decision, and turned to Victor, determined. 

"H-he wants to j-join you, Victor."

"Me?" Victor exclaimed. "That can't be right! I, I'm just starting out! I'm not strong! And besides, everyone always says that you should wait until you're more experienced to raise a Ghost-type..."

Marnie smiled a bit. "Maybe it just sees something that you don't."

Victor thought for a moment, then got down on his knees and sighed. "Don't scare Ace too much, okay?" He grabbed a Pokeball out of his bag, and held it out in front of him. The Litwick floated itself over and tapped the button. The ball chimed without shaking a single time.

* * *

Hop shoveled spoonful after spoonful of Tomato Soup into his mouth. Gloria put down her Panini, and snickered at him. "Be careful, Hop! Imagine what your mother would say if I let you choke to death!"

Hop stopped eating and gave her a deadpan glance. "You can't choke on soup, Glo."

"Eh, better safe than sorry." Gloria took another bite of the sandwich. "Wow, Leon wasn't kidding. This is really good!"

"I know, right?" Hop put down his spoon. "He might not know how to walk in a straight line, but my brother sure does know how to eat!"

"Hey, guys!"

"Hey, Victor!" Hop pulled over a chair from the empty table next to them. "What have you been up to?"

"Eh, nothing much, just helping a Gym Leader do a bit of paranormal investigation."

Hop and Gloria stopped eating and just stared at him. "You're joking, right?" Victor shook his head. Gloria put down her sandwich. "Details, now."

As Victor told the story of breaking into Kabu's Office, Hop stopped him. "Wait, so you caught a Litwick? Don't those like, burn away your soul or something?"

"Galar's resident expert on Ghost-types didn't stop me from catching it."

Hop tried to refute this logic, but couldn't. "Guess that makes sense."

"Who was the other challenger you were with?" Gloria asked.

"Oh, yeah, her! I'm...blanking on her name. Sorry. She had a Morpeko, cool hairstyle, uh...oh! Right! Marnie! Her name's Marnie. She's pretty nice...why are you looking at me like that?"

"Isn't she the one who those guys at the Inn were rooting for?"

The three of them all thought for a moment. "I mean, she seemed nice enough," said Victor.

"Still, what kind of first time Gym Challenger has that kind of fanbase?"

"Yeah, I guess so...next time I see her, I'll ask about that."

There was a lull in the conversation before Gloria handed Victor a menu. "You want to get something here? It's all really good, and Hop's paying!"

"Wait, what?"

As Gloria and Hop descended into bickering over whether or not they had agreed to split the bill, Victor just laughed and scanned the menu.

* * *

Bea was in the middle of evening stretches with her team when her Rotom Phone rang. She answered it, and her face lit up. "Hey, Al! How are things in Motostoke?"

"Th-they're good." Allister's eyes shone behind his mask, his voice sounding happy. Mimikyu was perched on the bed behind him, smoothing the covers. 

Bea smiled. "Did you find that ghost Kabu was talking about?"

"Mm-hmm. A couple of Gym Challengers helped me. Th-they were nice. They t-talked to me, a-and I didn't freak out or a-anything!"

"That's great!"

Allister nodded, then his voice took a slight somber turn. "I-I miss you."

"Oh, don't worry, Al. I'm taking a Corviknight taxi over there, first thing tomorrow!"

"What about your morning workout?"

Bea sighed. "Okay, okay. Second thing tomorrow."

Allister nodded. "S-see you soon."

"Bye!" Allister hung up the call. Bea turned to her Machamp. "You know what, I think that's enough for today."

Machamp turned back to bark an order at the rest of the team, who relaxed. "Everyone make sure to get some rest, okay? We've got a big day tomorrow!"

* * *

Allister turned off the video call. Today had been a good day. "Come on, Mimikyu. Let's get some sleep. We have a big day ahead of us."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy, this chapter was letter by letter, let me tell you. In between online classes and moving houses, I really didn't have much time to work on it. But, I got it up now, so yay. One of these days, I will make myself stick to an upload schedule. One of these days. Anyway, for the rest of this AN, I was thinking of talking for a bit about the scenes depicted in this chapter. 
> 
> So, the Budew Drop Inn Scene. With the beginning of the chapter, I wanted to try and establish Marnie's place in the league. Since she has such an antagonistic and dedicated fanbase, I figured that the other challengers might have just a bit of resentment towards her. 
> 
> Then, the Team Yell fight. Basically, Victor is the closest thing Gloria has to impulse control, and Hop is as unhelpful as possible. This will show up again. Also, starting to lay a bit of groundwork for Hop and Bede's characters going forward. As much it pains me to say this, I already have plans for when Bede and Hop battle after the Motostoke Gym, and it won't be pretty.
> 
> Gloria's Nincada doesn't quite realize that it can take food for granted now. It's going to remain a hungry little fellow for a while. Regarding Gloria and Hop's sections, I kind of just wanted to write a bit of friendship fluff for them. I want our main trio to be believable as friends, and I hope I'm doing an okay job writing for them. 
> 
> It's my headcanon that Ghost-type experts frequently get called in as faux-paranormal investigators by their friends. So, when a ghost moves into Kabu's office, Allister gets called in to get it away from there. 
> 
> I do tend to play fast and loose with Pokedex entries, with Litwick being a prime example. In my headcanon, not all of them are merciless, evil soul devourers. Just a fairly good portion of them. Victor's Litwick in particular is more of a prankster than a vengeful spirit. As for why it doesn't need to burn souls to survive, let's just say that there's special technology and Pokemon food or something, I don't know. Just know that there is some completely valid explanation for this, and that it is entirely irrelevant to the story. 
> 
> Oh, also, Mimikyu is Allister's emotional support Pokemon, and you can't convince me otherwise.
> 
> STAY TUNED FOR:  
> \- The Opening Ceremony! It's time to kick off this year's league season, and we're starting it off right...I hope.  
> \- Leon and Sonia! These two don't really get much development in canon, and that's something I want to change.  
> \- Shielbert? Huh. That's...not supposed to happen yet...


	3. Our Legends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leon makes an entrance. Raihan wears a clip-on tie. Bede talks to a mirror.

"Today's the day. You ready?"

Marnie sighed. "Yes, Piers. I'm really ready for this."

Her brother smiled through the Rotom Chat Window. "I know, I know. Jus' wanted to make sure that everything's going good for you."

"So you've said."

"Can I see the uniform?"

Marnie took a couple of steps back from the Rotom Phone and spun around. "Very nice!"

"Thanks, Piers."

There was a knock at the door. "I've gotta go now."

"Love you, Marnie."

"Yeah, I know."

Piers just stared through the chat window for a second. "Oh, come on! Not gonna say 'I love you' back?"

"Rotom, close the chat!"

The League Staffer opened the door. "Who was that?"

Marnie shook her head. "Jus' my brother. I love 'im, but he's a bit much at times."

* * *

"Opening ceremony time!" Hop was in full uniform, practically bouncing off the walls with excitement. Diddy was quite literally bouncing off the walls with excitement. While Victor pulled the shirt of his uniform on, Gloria combed Cinn's fur. Skip was napping in the corner. Wisp, Victor's Litwick, was creating patterns out of violet flames, mesmerizing Roadrunner and Beaky. Cinn was attempting to pull away from the comb of doom. Ace was using Skip as a security blanket. Fuji and Mr. Fish were having a deep conversation about the nature of reality and life itself; or they were just making noises at each other. One of the two.

Victor finished getting his shirt on. "Arceus, Hop, stand still! At this rate, you're gonna wear a hole in the floor!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know, but...it's the opening ceremony! The start of my legend as a trainer!"

Gloria finished combing Cinn, much to the latter's relief. " _Our_ legends as trainers, Hopscotch. And I don't think Vic would like it very much if we started it by breaking the floor of the hotel room he's staying in."

"C'mon, Glo, you can't break a hole in the floor by walking on it."

"I remember hearing a story that Steven Stone did once."

Hop shook his head. "That was his Metagross, not him! Because...you know! Metagross! They're big, and heavy, and they stomp, and, and stuff!"

The trio's bickering was interrupted by a knock on the hotel room door. Skip woke up and trotted over to the door, dumping Ace onto the floor. Victor walked over to answer it. As soon as he opened the door, Skip poked his head through and began to lick the hand of the League Staffer that had went up to get them. Hop immediately pulled the sheep back. "Which one of you is Victor Barnes?"

Victor stepped forward. "That's me."

Hop continued to wrangle Skip back into the room, whispering to the Sheep Pokemon. "I know you want to say hi, I know! But do that later, okay?"

"Are the other people in here also challengers?" questioned the League Staffer.

"Uh, yes, Gloria Barnes and Hop Powell?"

The League Staffer flipped through the papers on their clipboard. "I have a Gloria Barnes, but no Hop Powell. Is Hop a nickname?"

Victor sighed. "Yeah, look for Howard."

The League Staffer looked for a bit longer and nodded. "Alright then! Opening Ceremony starts soon. Gloria, Victor, Howard, you are each allowed to have one Pokemon out of your Pokeball with you during the ceremony."

"It's Hop!" Hop yelled.

"Alright. I'll make a note for my superiors. Please, head over to the Motostoke Gym when you are all ready."

"Roger that!"

The League Staffer closed the door. Hop did a fist pump. "Our legends begin!"

* * *

"Alright, Bede. You've been waiting your entire life for this moment. Don't. Mess. This. Up."

Bede was already in his uniform, and talking to his reflection in the bathroom mirror, his Hattena looking at him with an expression that was somewhere between determination and concern.

"You are the best of the best. You are better than all of them. You were chosen by the Chairman! You'll find those Wishing Stars, become Champion, and then they'll all see how wrong they really were. You can do this."

"Uh...is this Bede Pierce's room?"

Bede whipped around to find a League Staffer just standing there, in the middle of his room. "You, uh, you left your door unlocked."

"Yes, yes. I'll be at the Motostoke Gym in five minutes. Thank you."

"Are you okay?"

"Fine, perfectly fine. Now shoo."

The League Staffer decided to leave Bede to fume, and backed out of the room slowly.

* * *

"Nervous?"

Victor let out his deep breath and turned to his left to find Marnie in full uniform standing next to him. He smiled awkwardly. "Yeah, a little bit. It's uh...it's a lot of people, ya know?"

"Never gonna be champion if ya get stage fright."

"Try me," Victor laughed. "Hey, I wanted to ask you about somethi-"

"MAY I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE?" the League Staffer's megaphone screeched as they spoke from the top of a stepladder. "WE WILL BE GOING OUT ONTO THE FIELD IN TWO MINUTES. PLEASE, HAVE YOUR ONE POKEMON READY. I WILL WAVE THIS SILVER FLAG BEARING THE LEAGUE'S SYMBOL. THAT IS YOUR CUE. THANK YOU."

"So excited!" To Victor's right, Hop was bursting with enthusiasm. "Isn't this amazing?!" Hop turned to the person to his right, who happened to be Bede. The blonde looked at him for one second, then curtly responded with a quick, "Buzz off."

Bede pushed his way to the front of the crowd before sending out his Hattena. Hop turned to whisper to Gloria. "What a Git."

Gloria was busy hushing Cinn, who seemed to be feeding off the energy in the air. Wisp was perched atop Victor's shoulder (thankfully, the Litwick was keeping itself at a tolerable temperature), and Skip was trotting along faithfully besides Hop. Peko was in Marnie's arms, munching on a Tanga Berry. 

Victor turned to Gloria. "You ready for this?"

The silver flag waved into the air. "Let's do this," Gloria affirmed.

The challengers walked forward into the bright light of the day.

* * *

Emily Barnes was sitting on Marissa Powell's couch, watching as her kids, Victor and Gloria, walked out onto the pitch of the Motostoke Gym for the first time.

"Would you look at that? Gloria looks right at home up there!"

Emily smiled. "She definitely seems confident. And her Scorbunny looks healthy!"

Marissa joined her on the couch. "I don't even think my Leon was that confident for his ceremony."

The mothers turned their eyes a bit to find Victor and Hop. "Hop sure looks excited, doesn't he?"

"Anymore of this, and he'll burst."

"And there's Victor! Wait...is that..."

The two turned to look at each other. "You gave him a Litwick?"

"I didn't give him a Litwick! He must have caught it!"

Emily's Budew shrunk back into the couch cushions. "What if it's burning away his soul right now?!" Emily panicked. She immediately got up and dialed a phone number.

"Hello?" came a tired-sounding voice on the other end.

"Sonia! My son's in danger!"

Sonia sighed. "What is it this time, Ms. Barnes..."

"Aren't you watching the ceremony? He's in the opening ceremony with a Litwick! RIGHT! NOW!"

"Not all Litwick destroy souls, Ms. Barnes..."

"But what if he has one that does? Can I trust you to just...check on him a little bit?"

"Yeah, I'll...get to it..."

Emily heard the tiredness in her voice. "Are you okay? Did you get enough sleep last night?"

"Yes, yes I did, just...haven't had my coffee yet...'M on a train to Motostoke right now..."

"Well, uh, safe travels! And tell Gloria I say hi!"

"Will do, Ms. Barnes. Bye." Sonia hung up the call. Marissa looked over towards her friend. "Don't worry. Victor is smart, he should know how to recognize a hostile ghost."

"I know, it's just in my nature to worry," Emily sighed. "He and Gloria haven't been to so many of these places before, and...I don't know, I just worry about them sometimes."

"Don't worry. They should be able to take care of themselves."

* * *

Sonia hung up the call, and flopped back down onto her bed. Her Yamper was looking at her concernedly. "I'm fine. Let's get going."

Sonia dragged herself out of bed and started to get dressed. Beldum was holding her Alarm Clock towards her. Sonia swore. She'd missed the train. "Sorry. Ugh...guess we're taking the Sky Taxi."

Her Rotom phone buzzed. Nessa had sent her a Selfie with Bea and Kabu in the tunnel. Sonia looked at it once before sending the Rotom to sleep mode. She called Yamper and Beldum back to their Pokeballs. "Come on."

* * *

The crowd's cheer grew to a thunderous roar. Hop just stood there, drinking it all in. Skip seemed a bit more interested in trotting around and greeting all of the other challengers. But Hop was starstruck. To his left, Gloria waved at the crowd, a radiant smile on her face.

Further to his left, Victor didn't seem to know what to do with himself. He was just looking down at his shoes, and at the other challengers, and really just anywhere but the crowd. 

Chairman Rose spoke into his microphone. "And now, the moment you've all been waiting for! Please welcome...your Gym Leaders!"

Eight people stepped out from the tunnel, walking across the field while waving to the stands. Hop knew all of their names by heart. 

"Milo, the Grass Gym Leader!" 

The farmer gave a friendly wave to the crowd.

"Nessa, the Water Gym Leader!"

Nessa blew a kiss at the stands, causing them to cheer even louder. 

"Kabu, the Fire Gym Leader! Bea, the Fighting Gym Leader!" 

As their names were called, they simply gave curt nods to the crowd. 

"Allister, the Ghost Gym Leader!"

Allister made a motion that resembled a timid wave. Strangely, this seemed to have the same effect as Nessa.

"Opal, the Fairy Gym Leader!"

Opal merely kept walking. 

"Melony, the Ice Gym Leader!"

Melony laughed and waved to the crowd.

"Piers, the D-"

Oleana whispered something into Rose's ear.

"Uh...and last, but certainly not least!" Rose sounded slightly annoyed this time. "Raihan! The Dragon Gym Leader!"

Raihan paused to snap a selfie with the crowd. 

"And now...everyone cheer extra loud, for your champion is here. The one... The only... LEON!"

The cheers reached a crescendo as Leon flew in on Charizard's back, jumping off of Charizard's back and onto the field, striking his signature pose.

"We have a great season ahead of us, and some promising young challengers! So keep watching! The sixty-third annual Gym Challenge begins...NOW!"

* * *

"That was incredible!"

Hop was still full of the energy he'd absorbed from the crowd. "So many people were there...and, just...wow!"

Victor smiled. "Yeah! I, uh, I don't think I'm as good with crowds as you guys are, but it was still amazing! Though, did I do something wrong?"

"Whaddaya mean?" Gloria asked.

"Everyone's been giving me a really wide berth since the ceremony, and I can't for the life of me understand why..."

Gloria just stopped and stared at him. "What?" Victor said defensively.

"Victor, you walked out there with a Pokemon known for burning away people's souls. Now everyone probably thinks you're some sort of powerful ghost wrangler or something!"

"Wait, that can't be right!"

"I have the image in my head right now," Hop laughed. "Victor Barnes, Ghost Hunter!"

"Cut it out!"

"Wrangling dangerous Pokemon and keeping Galar safe!" Gloria crowed.

"Victor Barnes, Ghost Hunter!" the two sang.

Victor blushed. "Just because I have a well-behaved Litwick doesn't mean I'm freaking Allister all of a sudden..."

"Wait, hang on!" Hop stopped them. "Is that...it is!"

Hop took off towards some people in the distance. "Lee! Hey, Lee!"

The champion turned around to face his brother. "Hiya, Hop!" He turned to Hop's friends. "Gloria, Victor!"

"Quite an entrance!" Victor complemented. 

"Yeah, thanks." Leon said bashfully. "The Chairman wants a more extravagant entrance every season. I had to do a week of acrobatics training just to stick that landing!"

"So, what're you doing out here?"

"Can't a guy just walk around for a bit? Get some fresh air?"

"It's Motostoke. Everything's Steam Powered!"

"Somewhat...fresh air..."

Gloria smirked. "You're hiding from the chairman, aren't you?"

Leon shrugged. "Yeah, just a bit." Leon's Rotom beeped.

"You are attending a Press Panel at Motostoke Stadium in Five Minutes!" it spoke.

Leon sighed. "Never a dull moment."

"See ya soon, Lee!"

"Bye, Hopscotch!"

Leon began to walk away from the group, before he noticed a Yamper running around his legs.

"...Leon."

Sonia was standing right in front of him. He gave a bit of a nod. "Sonia."

The two continued on their way. Yamper looked at Leon, a bit sad and confused, before following his trainer.

Sonia walked up to Victor. She smiled. "Hey, Victor! Your mom wanted me to check in on you."

"Why?"

"She's...worried that your Litwick is stealing your soul."

Victor buried his face in his hands. "I know what a hostile ghost looks like..."

"That's what I tried to tell her."

"What are you doing here, Sonia?" Gloria asked.

"Oh...I'm going to a League Gala later today. I'm Nessa's Plus One. Figured it would be a nice break."

"Ugh, that sounds boring."

Sonia shook her head. "Even ultra-fancy parties are fun if you're with the right people!"

"I know, but...all the high heels, and fancy dresses, and, and seven more forks than any reasonable person would need, and they probably expect you to like, actually know how to dance-"

"And you'll be required to attend if you ever become Champion," Sonia finished playfully.

"Ugh!" Gloria pretended to storm off. Sonia laughed. "I'll see you three around, okay?"

"Bye, Sonia!"

As soon as they were gone, Sonia's Rotom beeped. "Your thesis is due in three weeks!"

Sonia's face fell. Yamper looked up at his trainer. "Don't worry about me, Yamper. Let's go find Nessa."

Yamper perked up at the mention of Nessa, and Sonia put on her smile again as the Puppy Pokemon ran in circles around her ankles.

* * *

Allister sat near the edge at the edge of the room, tugging on his bow tie. Mimikyu stood by his leg protectively. The music was louder than he was comfortable with. The average age was...older than him, that’s for sure. 

“Hey, Allister!”

Raihan’s tall, imposing figure cast a shadow over the ghost expert. “H-h-hi Raihan...”

Raihan smiled and sat next to Allister. Raihan’s Flygon skirted around Raihan to say hi to Mimikyu. Raihan offered Allister a glass of red liquid. Allister looked at him quizzically. Raihan chuckled. “It's a Shirley Temple. You know that Bea would kill me if I gave you alcohol."

Allister nodded and took the drink. Raihan was still talking. "She actually sent me over to check on you. You doing okay?"

"'s a lot of people," Allister mumbled. "H-how do you..." His voice trailed off.

"Practice," Raihan replied. "If you force yourself to mingle with people, eventually you get somewhat good at it." 

"Right..." Allister pulled at the tie again.

"Is the tie bothering you?" Allister nodded. "Just get a clip-on tie. Nobody will notice."

"Everyone will notice," commented a passing Opal. 

"Opal will notice," corrected Raihan. As Raihan continued to talk with Allister, Opal joined Melony and Kabu.

"The gym just leaves me so little time to be with my kids, and I really want to be there for them..."

Kabu nodded. "Any ideas for your successor, then?"

Melony sighed. "I've been trying to get Gordie to come back and take over for me."

"How's that going?" asked Opal.

"He's all the way in Alola now...I think he moves farther away every time I ask him."

"Perhaps it's time to accept that this isn't meant to be."

Melony huffed. "Oh, you're one to talk. Have you found anyone who's 'Pink' enough for you yet?"

"No, not quite. Everyone who comes through lacks a certain...oh, you wouldn't understand."

"Hey, Kabu! Opal! Melony!"

Leon walked up to the group. Charizard immediately tromped over to Kabu, who smiled and pet the dragon. "Hello, Leon. How's the Champion life?"

"It's, not too bad."

"Quite an entrance you made at the ceremony," Opal commented

"Yeah, did you see Hop's face? He looked like he was about to explode!"

"Hop's your little brother, right?" clarified Melony.

"Yeah, it's his first time going through the Gym Challenge! He'll destroy you all, just you wait!"

"We'll see about that."

"Anyway, what are you guys talking about?"

"Successors. Everyone here but Kabu is considering retiring after the season. And Kabu, you might want to start thinking about it too!"

"Nonsense, Melony. I could keep battling until there's nothing left of me!"

"Yeah, Piers is thinking it too. He hasn't said it, but we can tell that he's thinking about it."

"Really now?"

"Yeah. Keeps complaining about having no time for his music, and saying that his sister would make a better Gym Leader."

"How about you, Leon?"

Leon turned to face Opal. "What?"

"You've been Champion for 16 years, now. Is it not a little bit tiring?"

"Yeah, it's a lot sometimes, but it's nothing I can't handle!"

Opal quirked an eyebrow. Leon shook his head. "Don't worry about me. You should focus on finding your successor!"

"Fair. While I'm doing that, perhaps you could go rescue Bea?"

"Rescue Bea? From what?"

* * *

"Absolutely not."

"Pleeeease? Just once!"

"No. Way."

"Come on, it would be so much fun!"

"I like my wardrobe just the way it is, thank you."

"So, nine copies of your Gym Uniform and a button-up shirt?"

"Just the way it is."

Nessa was attempting to convince Bea to come clothes shopping with her. Bea was not having it. 

"Nessa, she doesn't want to. Let it go."

And Milo was attempting to mediate. 

"Come on, Milo...you know that you want to see her in a dress just as much as I do!"

"I, uh, I don't think I do, Nessa..."

"And that makes it even more of a no! Just, go hang out with Sonia or something..."

Nessa groaned. "Fiiiiine...I'll convince you one of these days! Just you wait!"

"Yeah, you keep telling yourself that."

Nessa walked off towards the entrance until a little flash of yellow and white fur pounced on her legs. "Hey, Yamper! Down!"

Nessa looked up. "Soniaaaaaa!"

Sonia grinned. "Nessaaaa!"

The two hugged. "How are you? I haven't seen you in ages!"

"I'm doing good," Sonia said. "I'll turn in my thesis to Hammerlocke University soon, and then if they accept it, I'll be a real professor, so that's something."

"Ugh, props to you for sticking with academics this long. As a kid, I could barely keep myself awake to learn!"

"Excellent job, Sonia," said Chairman Rose as he walked up to their conversation. "I'm glad that Magnolia has someone to take over for her. Tell her I say hi, would you?"

"Will do, Mr. Chairman."

A man with a large, bizarrely shaped mane of hair walked up behind Rose. Nessa just stared at him quizzically. "Oh, yes!" Rose said. "Ladies, this is Shielbert. He's a colleague of mine. I believe he is also researching the Dynamax Phenomenon?" Rose turned to Shielbert, who simply nodded.

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance. May I speak with the young Professor Magnolia, please?"

"Uh, that's my grandmother...just, call me Sonia. Please."

"Very well. If you would, Ms. Sonia?"

"...sure."

As the man brought Sonia to a balcony out towards the edge of the party, Nessa went to talk to Milo. "Whaddaya think they're talking about?"

"Probably science-y stuff," said Milo. "Anyway, how are things in Hulbury?"

"Oh, pretty good. Just finished maintenance on the Gym in the nick of time, we should be ready for challengers tomorrow! How about you?"

"Well, one of the Wooloo from the Challenge went missing, so we're trying to track it down. I just hope it hasn't gotten into any trouble..."

"Milo, this happens every year. It's always either one of the Wooloo, or one of the Yamper. I think they'll be fine."

"Yeah, I know, but I still can't help but worry!"

"Wooloo problems again, Milo?" Leon walked over to greet the two. 

"Oh, don't worry Leon." Milo said. "I'll be able to find him. Besides, we don't want you getting lost the day before the Gym Challenge!"

"That was one time, Milo..."

Nessa scoffed. "You called Raihan to come pick you up on Flygon."

"Yeah, but still-"

"In the middle of a match."

"Look, at least I found the Wooloo!"

"Guys, don't fight! We're here to relax."

"Not fighting, Milo, just respectfully disagreeing." Leon said calmly.

"Anyway, Sonia told me she's almost got her doctorate!"

"Oh, that's great. Good for her." Leon deflated a bit.

"Come on, are you two ever going to talk to each other again, or am I going to be stuck playing telephone for the rest of my life?"

"Look, we just kind of fell apart, okay? Took different paths in life, all that stuff."

"You used to be best friends!"

"And now we're not. That's all there is to it, Nessa."

Nessa harrumphed. Milo tried to change the subject. "So, I haven't talked to Piers lately! How's he doing?"

"Oh, Piers is doing fine. His sister's going through the Gym Challenge this year! He thinks she'll make it farther than Hop."

"Will she?" Nessa asked.

"Well, if she does, I owe him fifty bucks, so here's hoping..."

"You're betting on your siblings."

"It's just a friendly wager! That happens to grow by a little bit every time we talk to each other."

"What's next, loser does the Torchic Dance on Live Television?"

"No, they just have to agree to appear in Raihan's Swimsuit Calendar."

"Which is a great idea, thank you very much!"

The aforementioned dragon tamer had joined the conversation. His Flygon immediately started talking to Charizard. 

"Raihan, No. You're not proposing that to the Chairman."

"Raihan, Yes! I totally am!"

"I'm with Leon on this one," said Milo. "Who would buy a swimsuit calendar of us?"

"Eh, I'm game."

Leon turned to Nessa. "Really?"

Nessa shrugged. "I've done swimsuit shoots before. It's not that big of a deal."

"Still, stop enabling him!"

"Hey, Nessa!" Sonia had come back in from the balcony. 

Nessa excused herself from the conversation. "Hey, Sonia. How was your conversation?"

"He's oddly formal, but he did have a couple of interesting ideas...I think I know what I'm gonna try to focus my research on now."

"Really?"

"I'm going to figure out the origin of Dynamax!"

Nessa just stared blankly at her. Sonia pouted. "It's more exciting if you're into academia?" Nessa guessed.

"Yeah. Yeah, it is."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just realized that registration actually happens at the Motostoke Gym and not the Budew Drop Inn, but I'm too afraid to change it now. I'm an idiot. Also, I forgot about meeting up with Sonia before Team Yell, but ya know...do I really have to be ultra-close to canon?
> 
> Also, I need people to help me settle this. Is Bede's name pronounced "Bead" or "Beedee?" Please let me know, because I've been saying "Beedee" since forever, and I'm not sure that's right. 
> 
> As for why Victor took Wisp out onto the field as opposed to one of his other Pokemon, Ace doesn't mix well with huge crowds, and Fuji probably wouldn't be able to appreciate the gravity of the situation. Granted, Wisp also freaked everyone out, so...they all had their downsides. 
> 
> Also, I'm just gonna say that the Beldum in Sonia's house in Freezington also belongs to Sonia. Because if she really did the Gym Challenge, then she probably had more Pokemon than just Yamper. Beyond that, I really don't know what to do with her team, so any suggestions are welcome. 
> 
> Hop's Wooloo basically just acts like a big friendly dog to anyone he meets, and you can't convince me otherwise.
> 
> Regarding Sordward and Shielbert, they're going to be given a different role in this fic. The actual SwSh canon doesn't have a solid evil team, and they seem like perfect candidates to head up an actual one. 
> 
> STAY TUNED FOR:  
> \- Evolution! It's time that someone's Pokemon gets brought to the next level!  
> \- Cooking! We're gonna watch the gang cook as a team! Then again, you know what they say about too many cooks in the kitchen.  
> \- Vulpix! ...yeah, I'm running out of things to put here. Sorry.


End file.
